Monday, May 16, 2011

(Image) Shield: A carousel in the playground built above one of Colonel Gaddafi's bunkers in Tripol.

The net was closing on Colonel Gaddafi yesterday as Nato was urged to intensify its bombing campaign while prosecutors prepared to hunt him down for war crimes.

General Sir David Richards, the head of the Armed Forces, said the international coalition must be allowed to attack a wider range of targets and ‘tighten the vice’ on Gaddafi.

The general spoke as it was reported that the dictator was using children as human shields by building a playground on top of a command bunker in his capital, Tripoli.

Pressure was also growing on him as it emerged an international warrant for his arrest could be issued as early as today.

Prosecutors want the International Criminal Court to release warrants for the capture of three Libyan leaders – including Gaddafi – over the murder, torture and brutal repression of anti-government forces. Judges in The Hague will study 74 pages of evidence, including testimony from Gaddafi’s own officials on the atrocities committed by his regime.

An arrest warrant would complicate any plans for him to go into exile. Instead, he would be forced to choose one of two options: fight to the end, or go into hiding. Read More